Agenda item

As per the recommendations.

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the revenue budget monitoring information at Month 11 for the Council Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which had been updated for the latest information available.  The next budget monitoring report to Cabinet would be the Final Outturn on 10 July, 2012.

            Members were asked to note the projected year end position as estimated at Month 11 which was a net underspend of £2.266m on the Council Fund and a net underspend of £0.497m on the HRA.  The significant in-year projected variances to date were detailed in Appendices 2-6 for the Council Fund and Appendix 8 for the HRA.  The most significant Council fund underspend was within Community Services which was projected to be £1.932m, however, a large proportion of that was in relation to a planned underspend within Social Services for Adults in preparation for the Transforming Social Services for Adults review where efficiencies of £1.2m has been assumed in the 2012/13 budget.

            For the HRA, the overall projected underspend of £0.497m represented an increase of £0.107m on the position reported at Month 9.  The HRA showed a projected closing balance at Month 11 of £1.617m which at 6.4% of total expenditure satisfied the prudent approach of ensuring a minimum level of 3%. 

On Council fund unearmarked reserves, Appendix 7 detailed the level of contingency sum available.  It was recommended that £1.500m of the available Contingency Reserve be ringfenced in 2012/13 to support organisational change costs.  In each case, where investment was needed to improve services or make change to secure efficiencies, a business case would show the costs to be incurred, the change to be achieved and the ‘payback’. 

            The Leader reported that the underspend of £0.118m within Environment was after the transfer of the underspend of £0.245m on Winter Maintenance to a reserve.  The underspend had occurred as a result of lower salt usage in 2011/12 and had been set aside to mitigate the effects of any adverse weather in 2012/13.          

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the carry forward requests actioned under delegated powers be noted;

(c)        That the Council Fund Contingency Sum available as at 31 March, 2012 be noted;

(d)       That the ringfencing of £1.500m for investment in change be approved; and

(e)       That the projected final level of balances on the Housing Revenue Account be noted.